Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.: 4,722 Hours (3x05)

I was so excited for this episode. To my knowledge, this is the first bottle episode that Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. has ever done, and it was with a focus on Jemma Simmons, arguably the most underutilized main character on the show. I was so, so excited. And for the most part, the execution of this episode was excellent. But... I'm seriously, seriously annoyed with a few things. Let's take a look.

Cons:

The plot is very basic - we finally get to see what Jemma was up to on the alien planet. She records her experiences on her unrealistically not-dead cellphone, and eventually she meets Will Daniels, an astronaut from NASA who has been trapped on the planet for fourteen years. Jemma figures out when the portal will open again, but unfortunately they miss their chance. Jemma gives up hope, and falls in love with Will, both of them thinking they will stay there forever. At the end of the episode, Fitz shows up. Jemma manages to reach him, but Will stays back to fend off the mysterious and unseen force that's been plaguing them the whole time - the same force that caused Will's fellow NASA members to die. Fitz, upon hearing about Will, decides to help Jemma get him back. That's the plot.

And here's my complaint: a love triangle? Really? Here's the deal - I love the idea of Jemma meeting somebody on the other planet, and becoming dependent upon that person, and growing to love that person deeply. It could have been a crotchety old man that had been trapped on the planet most of his life, or it could have been a bad ass female NASA scientist, or it could have been an age-appropriate attractive straight guy, even, and they didn't have to go this route. There are a couple of annoying aspects about this. Of course I'm sad for Fitz, but that's not what this is about! Jemma is allowed to fall in love with somebody else, it's just... Will is boring. He's painfully bland. He's like Ward at the beginning of season one when we didn't know he was Hydra and he was just the blandest manly man ever created. I felt no connection to his character whatsoever, and it was really difficult to get invested in the romance for that reason.

And then of course there's the fact that love triangles are almost never executed well. Since we know, or can assume, that Fitz and Simmons are eventually going to be together, even if it doesn't last, we all already see Will as an obstacle to that endgame. It's setting up the character for failure, and that's a real shame. I'm not opposed to introducing a new character, and I think the actor did a good job with the material he was given, but you honestly couldn't pay me to be interested in Simmons and Will as a couple.

Pros:

I admired the execution of this setup, even if I didn't like the setup itself. Excellent acting from Elizabeth Henstridge meant that I really felt the despair she was feeling, and my heart broke for her when she finally lost hope. And it's a very Simmons-like thing to do, to adapt to her circumstances and find the positive spin on an impossible situation. It makes a lot of sense that she would fall for Will, given that there's literally nobody else around, and she was obviously in desperate need of companionship.

I think one of the reasons I was so disappointed with the love triangle twist is that I was looking forward to examining Simmons' feelings for Fitz in this episode. Throughout the history of the show, I've gotten a really, really good grasp on the fact that Fitz is head over heels in love with Simmons. He would do anything for her, and we've seen that again and again. Less clear in my mind was how Simmons felt about Fitz. This episode gave an opportunity to explore that. Setting aside the annoying interruption in the form of Will Daniels, we actually did spent a good portion of this episode examining Simmons' feelings for Fitz. The conclusion I've come to is that Fitz is Simmons' hero. Even when she gives up hope, she knows that Fitz will never stop looking for her. I loved the moment at the end when Fitz does show up, and Simmons sees the flair. She doesn't even hesitate. She immediately knows that it's Fitz, and that he's come for her. Will comments that Fitz is clearly more than a best friend to her, and Simmons replies that they're inseparable. The strength of their bond is so obvious, and Will isn't going to be able to get in the way of that in any meaningful way.

Then there's the end of the episode, where Fitz hears that Simmons has fallen for another man, and immediately gets up, goes to the lab, and starts trying to find a way to save this man. He's not doing it to gain brownie points, and I don't even think he's doing it entirely because he wants to make Simmons happy. He's doing it because Fitz is, at his core, a good human being. Knowing how desperately he tried to save Simmons, he's determined to find a way to save another poor lost soul who's in deep trouble. Now that I'm thinking of it, I'm pretty sure the only way to save this love triangle nonsense is if they do save Will, and if Will and Fitz become good friends. I would actually love to see that.

The atmosphere of the desert planet was well done. I loved the shocking sight of the unfamiliar outer space, the lack of sun, the wide open spaces juxtaposed with the small, cozy inner area of Will and Jemma's home. All of these things were much more interesting than the character of Will himself. Okay maybe I should stop hating on Will. To be fair, he's only been given one episode thus far. Maybe he'll prove to be more interesting as we see more of him? I certainly never would have believed it if somebody told me I'd find Ward and Skye to be interesting characters, and look at me now!

That's where we'll stop! This wasn't the episode I felt Jemma deserved, but it wasn't horrible. I can't really forgive the blandness of Will's character and the stupidity of the love triangle idea, but the rest was genuinely good.

7.5/10